Consumer refrigerators such as might be found in a household typically include a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment. The refrigerator is provided with an evaporator for maintaining the fresh food compartment at a temperature range of about 32-40 degrees Fahrenheit. The same or an additional evaporator may be used to maintain the freezer compartment below freezing, usually near 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Traditionally, the freezer compartment has been provided above the fresh food compartment in a so-called top mount refrigerator. The freezer compartment may also be located side-by-side with the fresh food compartment. A bottom mount refrigerator is one in which the freezer compartment is mounted below the fresh food compartment. These bottom mount refrigerators are popular because they provide easier access to the fresh food compartment, and provide relatively wider storage space than the freezer section of a similarly sized side-by-side model.
Ice makers are commonly provided within the freezer compartments of consumer refrigerators to automatically make ice. These ice makers are attached to a water line to provide fresh water to make ice. A sensing mechanism is provided to determine when the supply needs to be replenished and more ice made. There are numerous well-known structures for making and storing ice in the freezer compartment of a consumer refrigerator.
A popular feature on consumer refrigerators that include automatic ice makers, especially side-by-side models, is ice dispensing through the freezer door. According to this feature, a user can obtain ice without opening the door to the freezer compartment. A passage, cavity, or the like is provided through the door to the freezer, and ice can be automatically dispensed from the ice maker in the freezer compartment through the freezer door. Preferably the ice is dispensed at a convenient height for a user. Bottom mount refrigerators have presented a unique challenge because the freezer compartment is located lower than desired for an ice dispensing location. If the ice is formed in the bottom mount freezer compartment, it is necessary to lift the ice to dispense it at a comfortable dispensing height. Heretofore, this has not been practical.
In addition, many current refrigerators offer vegetable or meat storage in select areas within the refrigerator compartment. These storage areas are commonly known as crisper drawers and are internal drawers which can only be accessed if the fresh food compartment door is already open. Some refrigerators have begun to include a full width pantry or crisper drawer which is also an internal storage compartment which can only be accessed if the fresh food compartment door is already open.
Many bottom mount refrigerators include two fresh food compartment doors that open in a French-door style. In this French-door style of bottom mount refrigerator, a user must open both doors to access an internal full-width pantry or crisper drawer. This not only complicates access to the internal pantry or crisper drawer, but also requires exposing the entirety of the fresh food compartment to warmer external conditions when the only access needed is to the internal pantry or crisper drawer. Additionally, if the fresh food compartment doors cannot be opened fully, access to the internal pantry or crisper drawer may be limited.